Tufted terry product



E. D. MILLER 2,499,406

TUFTED TERRY PRODUCT March 7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec.18, 1945 \NVENTOR ATTORNEYS March 7, `1950 originl Filed Dec. 18, .1945

E. D. MILLER TURTED TERRY PRODUCT l 2- sheets-sheet 2 fig rca,-

a Y. l l J l v/ INVENTOR ATTORNEYS cooperates with the needle to"securely held in place in `machine carries a loop of atented Mar. 7,QSN

2,499,406 TUFTED TERRY PRODUCT Eugene Douglas Miller, Rahway, Company,La

to Callaway Mills corporation of Georgia Original application December18, 1945, Serial No. 635,747. cember 28, 1948,

N. J., assigner Grange, Ga., a

Divided and this application De- Serial No. 67,624

5 Claims. (Cl. 28-78) This invention relates to terry products, such asbath towels, carrying designs formed by yarns of appropriate colorsWhich have been passed through the fabric in selected areas by means ofa tufting machine to form tufts vprojecting from the face of thematerial. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a noveltufted terry product which is superior to similar prior articles in therespects that the tuft yarns are held more securely in place in thefabric, the tufts give a better coverage of the base fabric in thedesign areas and have a better appearance, and, at the completion of thetufting operation, the design is devoid of stray lengths of terry orground yarns or of terry loops projecting through the tufted areas andvisible at the face of the design.

Terry pro-ducts with tufted designs have commonly been made heretoforeby a procedure which involves Weaving a terry fabric on a standard terryloom after which the grey goods are subjected to the usual bleaching andfinishing operations. In those operations, the sizing carried by theterry and ground warp yarns is removed, so that those yarns become softand expand somewhat and the individual terry loops tend to become erectand to twist together. The designs are then formed on the bleached andfinished fabric by `stitching the tuft yarns in place on a tuftingmachine, which includes a needle for passing the tuft yarns through thefabric and a looper which form the tuft yarn into loops and to cut theloops to produce tufts.

Tufted terry materials made in the manner above described have a numberof objectionable features which result from their method of manufacture,as, for example, the tuft yarns are not the fabric and are liable to bepulled out during use of the fabric. The reason is that when the needleof the tufting tuft yarn through the fabric, the closely adjacent yarnsin the fabric at the point of penetration of the needle are spreadVapart to form an opening sufciently large for the passage of the needleand the two legs of the tuft yarn loop carried by the eye of the needle.When the needle is retracted, the tuft yarn loop is retained in theopening by the action of the looper, but it fits loosely in the opening,because the displaced fabric yarns are not' resilient and do not springback to their original positions. completed fabric, the legs of eachtuft looped about yarns at the back of the fabric lie Within and areonly loosely held in adjacent openings, and, as a result, the tufts canbe easily dislodged yduring handling or use of the tufted product.

Another objectionable feature of the present tufted terry productsarises from the fact that, at the time the tufting operation isperformed, the terry loops of the fabric have risen and the individualloops have twisted together and the bres in such yarns have separated asa result of the removal of the sizing from the yarns in the bleachingand finishing operations. Accordingly, when the needle of the tuftingmachine passes a loop of tuft yarn through the fabric, it frequentlyhappens that the needle will pierce a yarn in a terry loop, so that theyarn is broken and the broken ends are carried out past the ends 0f thetufts in the design. In other instances, the terry loop may be caught bythe needle and pulled out of the fabric past the level of the face ofthe design. In either case, the lengths or loops of terry yarn, whichare thus projected out of the design and are both variable in length andof a color contrasting with that of the tuft yarns, are readilynoticeable and give the design a ragged unfinished appearance. The straylengths of terry yarn and terry loops must, accordingly, be trimmed offin a subsequent operation and this adds to the cost of production.

The tufted terry products of the invention are superior to thoseheretofore made, in that the tuft yarns are more securely held in place,the tufts cover the base fabric in the design areas more completely, thetufted areas are free of lengths of yarn from the base fabric, and thecolors of the dyed yarns in the products are brighter and more delicate.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scale of aconventional terry fabric as taken from the loom;

Fig. la is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the terry fabric after ithas been subjected to bleaching;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the terry fabricas taken from the loom; on theline 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 2a is a plan view of the material shown in Fig. la after bleaching,on the line Zar-Za of Fig. la;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the operation of tufting theunbleached material;

Fig.4 is a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scale of the terryproduct of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing the displacement of the yarnsin a terry fabric during the passage Qi the tufting needle therethrough;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the gripping of the tuftyarns, in the new product, as the result of the shrinking of the fabricduring the bleaching operation; and

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the tufting of anordinary bleached terry productandshowing the breaking of terry loopyarns by the action of the needle.

The terry fabric illustrated in Fig. 1 is of usualA construction and itincludes ground warp yarns,

I and I I in two sets interwoven with filling yarns l2. Two sets ofterry yarns I3, I4 are employed and they form loops i3d, MCL. projectingfromY the fabric at opposite faces thereof. In preparation for theweaving of the fabric, the ground and4 terry warp yarns have been sizedand the bers,v

in the yarns are, accordingly, bound together. As a result, the yarnsforming the loops in the fabric are somewhat stiff and springy, and, asthe fabric is taken up on the loom, the loops on opposite facesv areallbent to lie inY the same direction-and have the regular appearance showninEigs. 1 and 2;

In'the production of the new terry article, the fabric as taken fromtheloom and in they grey orunbleached.condition is delivered to the tuftingmachine-.for thevapplication of the tufts form,- ingv the design. Suchtufting machines are of wellknown construction and 4they include aneedle I5; through theeye |5a of which the tuft yarn lirislpassed, andYin the tufting operation, the fabricis supplied to the tufting machineupside down, so that theneedle inserts the tuft ya-rnthroughrthev-fabric-from its rear face;y When the needle'` reaches itslowermost` point, a looper engages the Vloops of yarn carried by theneedle and retainsY that loop asv the needle is retracted. Ordinarily,the looper retains a number of loops beforel releasing any of them andthe looper may be provided with a knife for cutting the loops to'formythe tuftsat the face of the lfabric or the tufting machinemay include aseparate knife for thefpurpose.

When the needle starts its downward movement to pass a loop of tuft-yarnthrough the unbleached fabric, the` point of the needle first enters thelaye-rlofpi-le formed'bythe terry -loops at the back ofthe fabric, and,since the yarn 1in these loops is sized and the loops are somewhatsprngy, a loop struck by thef point of the needle will not be piercedbut-will slip to one side. As the needle movesdovvn farther` andpenetrates the ground of the fabric, the ground warp and filling threadswill be forced aside-to form an opening I1, through which the needleandthe twolengths of tuft yarn forming the loop carried by the needlemay pass.. Such displacement ofthe fabric yarns is easy, because thefabric has been somewhat loosely woven so that when it is shrunk inbleaching, the-yarns will not loe-drawn too. tightly together and thusmake the fabric too stiff. The displacement of the fabric yarns referredto is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 5, in which adjacent groundwarpyarns E0', Il and-'adjacent filling-yarns I2.' a-re shown as pushedaside by the. needlev and thev two lengths of tuftY yarns I6. It will beevident that, upon retraction of the needle, the tuft yarns I6. are heldonly loosely in-the opening, since their combined cross-.sectionsaresubstantially less than the cross-section ofthe opening andthe yarnsare not resilient and, accordingly, do not tend to close up the opening.

When the tufting has been completed to provide'. the.. terry product.with the desired tufted l dfi-sized and; have t design, the tuftedmaterial is subjected to the usual finishing and bleaching operations,and, during those operations, the ground yarns which have been displacedduring the tufting, as shown in Fig. 5, shrink and straighten out as theweave tightens up. As a result, the. size of each opening l'l':throughtthe fabricv isfreduced and the shrunk yarns tightly grip thelengths of tuft yarn I6 lying within each opening, as shown in Eig. 6,The tufts are, accordingly, firmly anchored in position.

Duringthebleaching and finishing operations, thelengthso-,f-jthe .tuftyarns forming the exposed legs of-thetuftsopen up and bloom out, asindicated at I8, and adjacent tufts intermingle and form a substantiallyuniform surface in the design area. Also, thesizung is removed from theyarn forming the terry loops and the loops tend to assume the twistedand somewhat erect condition, indicated at 13b. The loops Illa at theface 0f the fabrighave been; embedded among the Atuftslin tl'ie tuftingoperation, and, when the tuftsiiuff up and bloom out they overlie theterry loops,` so that when thelatter have been wisted, as shown at Mb,the ter-ry loopsan not force their way out beyond the ends-ofthe;tufts,4 The" opening up of the yarns forming the tufts asa resultoffthe bleachingoperalion, seemingly, serves to conceal both thegrof-rndv of the fabricand the terry loops in the front facethereof,

The application offthe tuft yarns to the fabric while thelatterislin the;g rey.condition affords another advantageas follows. In the l greygoods, thelayers ofypile-at-,eachY face of the base fabric arerelatively thinrbecause thevpile loops have been laid'iiat, and thebasefabricwis relatively loosely wovenandislikewise thin., In thetuftingoperation, it is;,ne,c essary that, the ends of thetufts shouldlie outward from the faceA of thefabric beyond'thef level-of the terryloops, but, since; thev layersL of pileare thinand the fabric isalsothin, the legs of thetufts need have only a relatively short lengthlto obtain the desired effect, Ifthetuftingvvereapplied to thebleachedterry fabric,- muchlonger lengths` of tuft yarn would be requiredto-form the: legs of each tuft, because the bleachingrcauses the terryloops to become erect and, also causes: the` base fabric to become.thicker as -a result of theshrinkage during the bleaching. The tuftingof the grey ter-ry fabricwthus permits shorter` tufts tobe used and thisresultsfin-/a sav-ingn tuft yarn. Also, the nshedzdesisdformed by the.tufts applied t0 the grey fabIiQ-mby'lie slightlybelow the. level thatthe5surfaee' Off therpile invuntufted areas reaches afterI bleaching;and. this Causes the tufted-designato have the appearance of beingembedded inA` the pile.

Another'advantaae 0f applvinathe tuft yarns prior4` o the bleachingisthat the bleach liquor reacts with thefdyestuifs thetuftlyarns and makeshecolors ofzthose yarns distinctlyzbrighter and more delicate. The,colors thusv produced could ndtbe easilvyobtained in the` dyeing 0f thetuftyarns.

The action of the,-bleaching f and vnishing operations on an ordinaryterry fabric shown in Figs. 1 andz, isillustratedgin Figs. 1a and 2a, inwhich it will be seen that the terry loops |30 andk Mohavebecomeysomewhat erect and have twisted togetherI as a result of theremoval of the sizetherefrom, In the vpile surface of the bleachedfabric, thefloops 13e, Ille` extend in randomdirections and thesvarnsare relatively-soft and have no springiness. When the tufting needle ispassed through bleached terry fabric, as 1n the production o1 tuftedterry products according to the prior practice, tne needle tends topenetrate and break tne terry loop yarns, such as that shown at I9, andthe broxen ends of the yarns are frequently forced out through thetufted areas. Also, 1n tufted 'terry products as made heretofore, withthe tuiting carried on after the bleaching, the legs of the tuft yarnsmust be suniclently long to project farther from the fabric than thetwisted loops 13e, Ilic, so that the plane of the outer ends of thetufts lies approximately in or outwardly from the plane of the ends ofthe twisted loops in the areas of the fabric surrounding the tuftedareas.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.635,747, led December 18, 1945, now Patent No. 2,486,963.

I claim:

l. A terry product which colnprises interwoven ground warp, terry pilewarp, and lling yarns forming a fabric from which terry loops project atboth faces, and U-shaped tuft yarns having their bights lying at oneface of the fabric and their legs extending through the fabric toproject from the opposite face, the tuft yarns lying in areas inaccordance with a pattern and being held in place by fabric yarns intight gripping contact with the legs thereof, the projecting portions ofthe legs overlying and concealing the terry yarns within said areas onthe face of the fabric from which the legs project.

2. A terry product which comprises interwoven ground warp, terry pilewarp, and filling yarns forming a fabric from which terry loops projectat both faces to form pile, and U-shaped tuft yarns having their bightslying at one face of the fabric and their legs extending through thefabric to project from the opposite face, the tuft yarns lying in areasin accordance with a pattern and the lengths of such yarns in projectingportions of the legs being expanded and intermingled to form asubstantially continuous tuft pile surface in said areas, the terryloops within said areas on the face of the fabric from which the legsproject being overlain and concealed by the expanded portions of thetuft yarns and the level of said tuft pile surface being lower than thatof the terry loop pile outside of and adjacent to said areas.

3. A terry product which comprises interwoven ground warp, terry pilewarp, and filling yarns forming a fabric from which terry loops projecton both faces, and U-shaped tuft yarns having their bights lying at oneface of the fabric and their legs extending through the fabric toproject fill `areas in accordance with a from the opposite face, andtuft yarns lying in areas in accordance witn a pattern and tne yarns intne projecting portions oi tne iegs being expanded and overlying andconcealing terry loops wltrlin said areas on the lace of trie fabricfrom wnicn tne legs project.

4. A terry product which comprises interwoven ground warp, terry pilewarp, and filling yarns forming a fabric from which terry loops projecton botn faces, and U-shaped tuft yarns having tneir bights lying at oneface of the fabric and their legs extending through the fabric toproject from the opposite race, the tuft yarns lying in pattern andbeing held in place by fabric yarns in light gripping contact with thelegs thereof, the yarns in the projecting portions of the legs beingexpanded and overlying and concealing terry loops within said areas onthe face of the fabric from which the legs project.

5. A terry product which comprises interwoven ground warp, terry pilewarp, and filling yarns forming a fabric from which terry loops projectat both faces to form pile, and U-shaped tuft yarns having their bightslying at one face of the fabric and their legs extending through thefabric to project from the opposite face, the tuft yarns lying in areasin accordance with a pattern and being held in place by fabric yarns inlight gripping contact with the legs thereof, the lengths of the tuftyarns in the protecting portions of the legs being expanded andinteriningled to form a substantially continuous tuft pile surface insaid areas, the terry loops within said areas on the face of the fabricfrom which the legs project being overlain and concealed by the expandedportions of the tuft yarns and the level of said tuft pile surface beinglower than that of the terry loop pile outside of and adjacent to saidareas.

EUGENE DOUGLAS MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the

